


Midnight

by dirtygsanchez



Series: Pyramid-Scheme [10]
Category: Gravity Falls, Rick and Morty
Genre: Angst, Fluff, M/M, Skinny Dipping
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-12
Updated: 2017-05-12
Packaged: 2018-10-31 01:35:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,886
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10889061
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dirtygsanchez/pseuds/dirtygsanchez
Summary: Pyramid-Scheme SeriesThis a turn-about Roleplay fiction originally written on tumblr between @bill-rick (Bill Cipher now inhabiting a Rick Sanchez body) and @evilgsanchez ('Evil' Rick Sanchez). Through roleplay we have built up a 40 year relationship for the pair and this compiled fiction is a piece that follows on from "Beside You." It shows how the two are adapting to their new relationship and demonstrates that if they are together they can weather any storm. It is also the prelude to their vacation to Mexico. (A current work in progress)





	Midnight

**Midnight**

Evil Rick been up for several hours, had eaten breakfast and cleaned up the cabin and the demon was  _still_ sleeping. They’d stayed up the night before so instead of being greeted by sunrise, he had arisen just in time to watch it set. He’d been off the drugs for several days and was finally,  _mercifully_ beginning to feel a bit more like his old self again. Walking towards the bedroom he eased the door open with his foot.

 _“We’ve slept the day away.”_  Rick announced, standing at the foot of the bed, fully dressed with a cup of coffee clutched in each hand, his own already ‘Irish-ed’ with whiskey.  _“It’s time to get up you lazy asshole.”_ He kicked playfully at the bedframe and tilted his head, glancing round at the mountain of covers seemingly shaped more into a heaped hill as opposed to the shape of an actual person.  _“It’s nearly midnight.”_  He chuckled, moving to place the strong steaming cup of ‘Joe’ on a nearby bedside table.  _“…and before you fucking start, I brought you your damn coffee_.” If there was one constant, consistent truth he’d learned about Bill, one which was as true today as it was when he’d learned it decades ago, it was this; don’t  _ever_  expect the demon to do anything without giving him a coffee first.

Evil Rick had always been the type to immediately rouse and rise, his mind instantly sharp, alert and ready for the day ahead. Bill however was entirely the opposite and by God did Evil Rick enjoy it; the grumpy little glares, the huffy violence laced complaints, the dragged feet and sleepy yet furious expression, frankly it was fucking adorable, although he’d never dare say so, not when Bill was in his ‘morning mood’, or in this particular case,  _midnight_  mood.

_“Come on you sleepy old shit, rise and shine.”_

\-----------------------------

The sound of Evil Rick’s voice only elicited a small growl of acknowledgement from under the mound of sheets, the blankets and covers shifting slightly to indicate that there was indeed life that lied beneath the otherwise still lump in the bed. Bill’s golden eyes peeled open, blinking slowly as his vision came into focus and revealed the pitch black that enveloped him. It took him a few moments to process that he hadn’t gone blind, but was rather still bundled in cotton and down from head to toe, resembling that of a moody, pissy, moaning burrito.

“ _Just leave me **alone,**_ **”**  he hissed. He didn’t give a shit what time it was, what day it was. He had nowhere to be, nowhere to go. He should probably shower but he hardly had the energy to move. Bill hadn’t risen off the mattress, not to eat, not to stretch, not to do  _anything_  in a full day’s time. He just wanted to stay here, curled up all by his lonesome, enveloped in blankets and the heat emitting from his body on every side. Though it was more the quilts that warmed him now- the lack of nourishment was beginning to take effect on him. Any time an inch of his skin was exposed to the air, he found himself trembling, he could hardly control his temperature in such a state. He was miserable. And he wanted to be miserable.

At the mention of coffee, there was a long pause. Ever so slowly, a single tattooed arm snaked out from underneath the pile of quilts. Fingertips patted down the surface of the bedside table until his knuckles gently bumped the handle of the cup. He wrapped his hand around the mug and, like a pit monster who had just been placated with an offering, gradually dragged the piping hot cup of Joe into the abyss of blankets with him. Another pause, broken only by the sounds of a few small sips and at last the hoarse whisper of Cipher’s voice.

“ _Thank you.”_

_\--------------------------_

_“I’m not leaving you alone, I’m not going anywhere until you get up out of that fucking pit of yours, lazy bones.”_  He sat on the edge of the bed and sipped his coffee, smiling as he watched Bill’s trembling hand emerge from the cosy depths to claim his caffeine. 

 _“I’ve already eaten breakfast, there’s a stack of waffles in the kitchen and I expect you to eat them, all fifteen of them.”_  He’d seen Bill eat over thirty in one sitting once, this was hardly asking anything extraordinary. Strangely taking care of Bill for a few days had made him focus less on his own woes and that slight distance from them had helped him better cope.  

He sat in silence sipping his own coffee, giving Bill a little more time, counting his companion’s sips, estimating when the cup would be finished, keen to avoid spilling it all over the bed. As soon as it hit a likely number he stood up and placed his cup down, it was quite clear the demon had no intention of moving.  

 _“I can see I am going to have to extract you myself, you stubborn bastard._ ” He declared with a feigned sigh and a grin, grabbing hold of two of the quilt ends and pulling  _hard_ , attempting to loosen them from the demon’s grasp.  _“Come on, get….there’s no point fucking wallowing over shit….shit you can’t change…get….get….get the fuck up.”_

_\------------------------------_

Cipher groaned as the other continued to talk. Calling him  _lazy bones,_ telling him to  _eat all fifteen of his waffles._  Jesus Christ, when did Evil Rick become his  _mother?_ “Because a stack of waffles is  _really_  gonna help, huh?” he snarled. Who was he kidding? Waffles always helped, even if it was just temporary. But he  _hated_  admitting that  _anything_  would make him feel better. He was set on lying here, wallowing and sleeping until he became one with the mattress.

Just as he threw back the last drop of coffee, the quilts were unceremoniously yanked from the other end, prompting Bill to shout. “ ** _HEY!_** _Let go you shit!”_ He tried to tug them back under his body, but with such a lack of energy he was much to weak too hold on. He allowed Rick to pull the covers off of him, revealing a shirtless demon curled in on his side, hands gripping the coffee cup tightly for warmth and wearing nothing but a pair of black lounge pants. His teeth chattered and clicked as his spoke.

“F-f-f- _fine._ I’ll get up… _Fuck.”_ On trembling arms he hoisted himself into a sitting position, giving the other a glare. “I need…. I need my ca-…” He was going to say  _cane_. He hadn’t been back to the cabin to get anymore of his Vicodin, and the bottle he’d brought with him was emptied in a day’s time. Whenever he had woken from his slumber, he popped another three or four capsules in his mouth to knock him back out- in the absence of his medication, even something as simple as rising from bed caused a spark of pain to radiate in his thigh, his fingers digging into the cloth that covered the marred patch of flesh. And the cane… The cane hand made by…  _God_  he couldn’t even let the name cross his thoughts. It stung too goddamn much. He didn’t want to look at it either. He’d need a new one soon, the idea of carrying that weight with him wherever he went was less than appealing. He would keep the gift, but he had to keep it hidden from himself.

“…Can you help me up?”

\-----------------------------

 _“I don’t give a fuck if they give you the God Damn shits, you’re fucking eating them.”_  He narrowed his eyes at the demon, his mood settling somewhere between annoyance and amusement as he gave one final tug and pulled the covers away from the sickly looking demon. It was strange to see a being made of such pure energy chittering and shivering with the cold. Still, it wasn’t the first time he’d seen Bill in such a state and he was convinced it wouldn’t be the last.

He stood with his arms folded as if chastising a Morty as he waited for Bill to finally begin to move from the bed. Noticing the obvious avoidance of asking for his cane, Rick made a mental note to head out of the cabin once Bill was settled to look for a piece of driftwood on the shore of the lake which might do as a makeshift cane in the meantime; the other simply carried too much weight and that was nothing to do with its physical construction.

He allowed Bill to struggle for a moment, refusing to help, embedding the lesson that avoiding food and painkillers only resulted in this mess. He always found he could be expertly cruel and callous when there was a lesson to be learned. When finally asked, he stepped forward, wrapping Bill’s arm around his neck and heaving him up to lead them both out of the bedroom towards the kitchen table. Depositing Bill down on a chair, he fetched a dressing gown and wrapped it around the demon’s shoulders, coaxing him to slip his arms into it. He returned a moment later with another coffee and a steaming hot pile of waffles with warmed syrup. As a final flourish he placed down a fresh bottle of Vicodin beside the coffee. It was clear from the label they were the pain killers Bill used, it was also clear that Evil Rick had stolen them from a dispensary as the name and address belonged to a Mrs Haggenmire, whoever the hell she was.  In truth Rick had stolen the chemist’s entire stock, but he felt no need to mention that.

 _“There we are.”_ He smiled smugly. _“Don’t say I’m not good to you, you grumpy old shit.”_

_\-------------------------_

Fuck he  _hated this_ , even as much as he loved this. It was hard for him to admit that in times like these, he needed to be taken care of, to have someone else  _be there_  for him. Something remarkable about the demon was that he thrived off of being needed by those closest to him. He was their ever-watchful protector, their guardian, always racing to their side just as he had for Evil Rick a few days ago. But whenever the tables turned, Cipher was far less keen on the situation. He had his own methods of coping, of going somewhere to be alone to drink and wreck shit for a few days time until the freshness of any pain wore off, until he managed to  _internalize it._ And then he would return, sufficiently numbed by isolation and alcohol.

But with Rick still here, and still in need of his company, he couldn’t leave. So perhaps that’s what had him so pissy, that the other had to  _see him_  like this. The omnipotent, omnipresent malevolent God - weak and shaking and showing all the symptoms of painkiller withdrawal. Paired, of course, with a steaming hot cup of guilt.

Bill didn’t make a sound as the dressing gown was wrapped around him, he slid his arms into their designated places with nothing more than a huff _._  Yes,  _grumpy old shit_  was indeed a  _great_  nickname for him. Those waffles looked delicious, though. He expected nothing less, Rick was an incredible chef. So did the-

_Vicodin._

Cipher snatched the pill bottle the moment it was set down on the table, his desperation for it so goddamn obvious as he popped open the cap and threw back three times his prescribed dose. Acute pain was fun.  _Chronic pain was not._ He took a deep breath of air as the capsules slid down his throat and settled into his stomach, the sensation alone enough to make him look like a man who had just been saved from the brink of death. He chased it with a gulp of coffee, finally looking at the bottle with a weak smile. “So I’m  _Mrs Haggenmire_  today, hm? Gotta wonder what she takes this shit for. Whatever it is it needs twice the prescription strength of mine.” That was a good thing, made clear by the demon’s face. There weren’t enough painkillers in the multiverse for this damn leg. 

Bill scoffed, shaking his head as he began to carve into the stack of waffles, slowly chewing the small bites he took. He wasn’t hoovering up the food like usual, attesting to the fact that he just didn’t  _feel_  like eating, even if he knew his puppet needed it. “You’ve always been good to me. More than I deserve sometimes.” It was a simple statement- he wouldn’t gush about it but hell, he wouldn’t deny it either. “…  _Thank you.”_

The black cloak of night caught his attention. Clear skies, evident by the brilliant amount of stars overhead. The quiet rippling of waves on the lakeshore called to him. All of these things he’d heard about cold water being good for muscle aches, he had to wonder if it was the only pain it could soothe. Not to mention Bill could use a bath… But he needed to be outside, needed to feel  _awake._

“… You feel like going swimming?”

\------------------------------

Staring out at the lake and considering Bill’s suggestion, he was immediately struck by how dark and ball-chillingly cold it looked; unlike the demon, Evil Rick was nowhere near as enthusiastic about nature or the prospect of immersing himself in it. Still, it seemed like a good excuse to have Bill’s wet, warm body pressed tightly against him and frankly, Bill really did need a bath. Despite his reservations it was obvious to him that the demon needed to escape the confines of the cabin, even if only for a couple of hours. The lake was definitely a better option than venturing anywhere else, Rick simply didn’t want to deal with anything else right now, especially other people and so he relented, flashing his companion a smile that said he was considering it.

Walking back over towards Bill he sat beside him and picked up the bottle of Vicodin to examine the name again and the date of birth. _“Only if you want to role-play a 98 year old woman…hmm….best be careful Mrs Haggenmire, I might put your hip out with what I have planned, you beautiful old dear…_ ” He quirked an eyebrow and burst out laughing then popped off the cap and slipped a single pill onto his tongue. Leaning forward he smoothed his thumb over the demon’s deeply scarred thigh and clasped his other hand to the side of his lover’s head to kiss Bill deeply, allowing yet another painkiller to roll down the demon’s tongue, slip into his throat and land in his waffle stuffed belly. 

Lightly twisting his fingers in Bill’s hair he ran his cheek along Bill’s jawbone.  _“Mmm…you still smell of warm bed and sleepy sex.”_  He laughed and moved away to catch Bill’s eye, a playful grin peaking at the corner of his mouth.  _“Sleepy sex is certainly the more romantic phrasing, what I really mean is dried cum Bill.”….you need a wash.”_

_\---------------------------_

Cipher smiled as the kiss broke, humming as the capsule fell effortlessly onto his tongue and joined the others, the painkillers already beginning to soothe his aching muscles and frayed nerves. “Didn’t know you had a thing for chicks with no teeth, Ricky. I’ll keep that in mind next time I have to find another body.” He gave his lover a cheeky little wink. Seeing Rick in a good mood was refreshing- at least  _one of them_  was cheery. But admittedly it was rubbing off on the demon, evident by the little smiles and breathy laughs he returned. He was supposed to be feeling miserable… And right now it was  _impossible_  to feel miserable around Rick.

“ _Hey!”_  Bill gave his companion a light shove with what returning strength he had. “It’s  _your_  cum, you bastard. You can blame yourself for that. Been all over me the last couple days.” Not that he was complaining. It was the exact opposite in fact. Fuck, sharing a bed with Evil Rick again was the only thing keeping him even relatively sane. Or, as sane as Cipher  _could_  be.

He felt satisfied, at the very least. The demon was becoming warm again, no longer having to rely on the comforters for heat but instead burning his own energy from a full stomach and enjoying the hazy effects of the narcotic high and the wave of energy from the few cups of caffeine. And Rick’s presence, as always, was soothing him. He slowly rose onto his own two feet and let his dressing gown fall to the floor, one arm snaking around his lover’s waist and pulling him towards the open living room window and out into the cool of the night. He didn’t want to go anywhere far, but now that he was up and about he was eager to get some fresh air in his lungs. He could feel his puppet’s joints creaking with each step, an obvious effect of his immobility the last few days- Christ, how long  _had_  he been in bed?

Once they’d reached the dock’s edge, Bill couldn’t help but gaze upwards and marvel at the stars, taking a deep breath of the crisp air and letting the breeze coming off the water brush upon his skin, the lack of goosebumps a stark sign that his temperature was stabilizing itself once more. He knew Rick had never had the certain affinity for nature that he himself did. He was grateful that his companion had chosen this place at all, obviously having kept the demon in mind. It was a perfect marriage of both their tastes. “Beautiful night, isn’t it?”

And before Rick could answer, the demon gave him a forceful shove into the ice cold water.

\-------------------------

As Bill guided him out of the cabin towards the dark lake Rick fell into step immediately, walking with the demon past the shore line onto the brittle wood of the deck and down the long dock ahead. As they left the bright lights of the cabin far behind, only moonlight was left, stretching, shimmering and casting their path in a cool pale light.

As Bill looked up at the dazzling stars, Rick stared down into the rippling dark water, enjoying the bleak black of its deep depths.

He was about to agree with Bill when he felt a hand at his back, he hadn’t realised it was a push until he felt the sharp chill of the water engulf him, immediately sucking the air from his lungs. As his clothes became weighted by the water he swam upwards to burst at the surface to gasp in a cold shocked breath. The drenching downwards pull of his clothing forced him to hastily strip to rid himself of the excess weight. A shoe first, one he aimed directly at Bill’s head but to his disappointment fell a few feet behind him.  _“Motherfucker…”_ He cursed with a shivering smile as he continued to undress throwing the sapping wet garments onto the end of the dock one by one. As he slapped down his black shirt he kicked off the wood to swim further into the water.  _“It’s fucking freezing…”_  His expression was one of faint amusement and even fainter annoyance as he spoke with a freezing stutter.  _“S-s-stop keeping all the heat for yourself you…you sadistic old sh-shit, g-g-get in here!”_

_\---------------------------_

Bill’s loud cackling echoed across the vast open space of the lake as he ducked to avoid the shoe thrown at his face. “ **AHAHAHA!** _Awwwwww_ , cold sweetie?” Jesus he was just  _asking_  to be drowned the moment he dove into the water. But missing any opportunity to tease Rick was a wonderful opportunity wasted. He pulled off his lounge pants with a single fluid motion, stepped back a few paces, and with an awkward half-run-half-limp gait he  _leapt_  from the edge of the dock and into the water. Naturally, the demon aimed his landing close enough to Rick so that any waves he made washed directly over the other’s head.

Erupting from the lake’s surface beside his lover, Bill’s warm arms wrapped around Evil Rick’s waist and pulled him back to press against his bare wet chest. Small vapors of steam came off the water around his skin, his heated flesh enough to keep the space between them comfortable in the midst of the freezing lake. He planted a kiss on the other’s temple, pulling away with a smirk. “ _Better?_ ”

For Rick, he could tell that the water was bone-chilling. But for the demon, the sensation was  _heaven_ , a rain that extinguished the ever-burning fire of his leg’s muscle aches. He could stretch out his limbs, bend them every which way that his joints would allow, the weightlessness of being immersed in the lake giving no resistance to his motions, no limitation,  _no pain._ It was as if, for a moment, the injury ceased to exist at all, something vicodin couldn’t achieve- the pills helped the pain, but never the stiffness. Bill took a deep breath of the crisp night air, the content sigh which escaped from his lips an obvious indication of his relief. “I almost forgot how good swimming was for this damn thing.”

\-----------------------------

 _“Cold doesn’t even begin to describe it you utter asshole.”_  His tone was grumbling but his face was smiling. 

Rick groaned again as a fresh cascade of ice cold water splashed across his face just as Bill hit the water. He was about to complain when Bill swam towards him and pulled him close into a tight, warm embrace, wrapping around his back. Despite the chill of the water Bill remained at a constant high heat which was just enough to keep Rick warm as he struggled to cope with the freezing temperature of the water.

 _“Much better.”_ He replied, pulling Bill’s arms to settle around his stomach so he could steal more heat.  _“I swear my fucking dick is trying to climb back inside my body.”_  He chuckled lightly, pulling Bill’s hand down to cup his frozen balls and give them some warmth.  _“Mmm…”_  The noise was one of simple relief, as opposed to arousal. 

Listening to Bill speak, he slipped his hand down through the water and settled it on Bill’s scarred thigh then seemed to fall silent for a moment, clearly thinking about something.  _“I think you like it.”_  He finally stated with a playful grin, giving the demon’s pained leg a little squeeze.  _“You could have had it replaced with something robotic, or even found yourself a new body, but you haven’t…”_  He twisted in the demon’s grip to press his chest again Bill’s own and continue sharing his heat. “ _Does it make you feel more connected to your puppet, or is it the memory that matters…”_  Reaching forward he slid his hand over Bill’s forehead to slick his hair back out of his eyes and truly study him.  _“…or perhaps it makes you feel more human…”_  His eyes probed Bill’s, shining with intrigue, clearly looking for an answer.  _“…or perhaps you just don’t want to give up a body that looks and feels so much like my own.”_  He flashed the other a narcissistic grin and leaned forward to kiss him, enjoying the sweet taste of syrup still lingering on Bill’s lips.

\---------------------------

As the demon’s warm hand was pulled to his partner’s balls, he couldn’t resist giving them a gentle squeeze, hiding a smile in the crook of Rick’s neck. Bill pressed gentle kisses along his neck, his shoulder, his collar bones, too consumed by the mingled, diluted scents of whiskey and cigarettes on Rick’s skin to stop. He could never be intimate enough, never be  _close_  enough with the other. 

 _I think you like it._  

As his lover turned in his arms and began to list every reason he could think of as to  _why_ Cipher had kept the body with the busted leg, all he could do was grin. Had Rick ever realized it? Had he ever taken a step back to assess the pattern of his puppets, the way they looked, how well they worked,  _their age?_ “Well I will say that my attraction to human males is  _biased._  You know me. Vain and all, wanted to be in the hottest body I could find.” He leaned forward into the kiss, brushing their lips together and smiling all the meanwhile, enjoying the moment of quiet bliss.

Bill pulled away, amber eyes glowing against the dark and a single hand emerging from the water to stroke Rick’s cheek. “Or maybe I kept it because I know you like it so damn much…” It was part of the reason, admittedly. The demon could care less about the approval of most, but the approval of the man who had looked up to him for so long meant  _everything._ “… _Or_ …”He paused, arms sliding to the other’s waist and wrapping across his back, pulling Rick close to his warm chest, Cipher’s forehead pressing against his lover’s. “Or maybe I knew I couldn’t grow old with you… But I wanted to feel like I could anyway…”

\------------------------

 _“Mmmm…true, you are as gay as they come.”_ The words were whispered with a little wet laugh against Bill’s slick warm throat as he shifted in the demon’s grip, coaxing him to take a closer hold.

Rick grinned as the narcissistic demon spoke of his obvious preference for this body. As he replied, he broke up his sentence with nipping little kisses, harshly gripping soft, aged skin between his teeth… _”So…..damn…much…_ ” It was no secret after all, over the last thirty years Evil Rick had developed a strange taste for the bodies of his alternatives, one that had grown from an interest into a  _preference_.

Or maybe I knew I couldn’t grow old with you… But I wanted to feel like I could anyway…

Rick stilled in the water as he heard Bill’s statement, which almost sounded like a confession, probably because, in truth, it was something Rick  _hadn’t_ actually considered before. As he closed his eyes the obviousness of it suddenly hit him like a smack in the face and he stopped treading water, allowing the demon to hold him afloat as he continued to softly press their foreheads together in silence. The sentiment was almost too much for him to feel, the idea that all this time Bill’s puppets had been chosen to compliment his age. That, through Bill’s actions, in a way, in the only way possible in fact, they had been able to  _feel_ like they were growing old together even if his Rick’s timeline represented a mere fraction of Bill’s.

It wasn’t often Evil Rick found himself lost for words, but in that moment as the water lapped in the small gap between their chests and the warmth of the demon’s body heated his own, he found himself incapable of speech. Swallowing, he opened his mouth to speak, but instead chose to pull Bill against him, twisting the demon into a desperately tight hug.The tightness only emphasising how close he felt he had come to losing Bill entirely, a fate he had always hoped would never befall him. Opening his eyes he glanced at his hands, hands that were still clinging so tightly to Bill, hands wrinkled with age, time and water. God he’d got so damn old, how long did they even have left, twenty years, thirsty at best? Wide eyed he looked at Bill and finally spoke, with a seriousness that surprised even himself.  _“I…d-don’t….don’t ever…EVER leave again.”_

_\-------------------------_

A wave of nausea overcame Bill as his partner became quiet-  _eerily_  so. He’d never discussed  _why_  or  _how_  he cherry-picked his puppets with Rick. It hadn’t been brought up, and Cipher assumed that the other may have just known. But now,  _now_ it was obvious that Rick had been completely oblivious to such an action. Suddenly the demon regretted mentioning it,  _hinting it_  at all. The smile on his face dropped, shrinking back into a look of worry. Would it have been more meaningful if he had kept his mouth shut? Was it even right of him to assume that Rick would  _appreciate_  it? He didn’t know. Starting this again, bringing what they shared back to life after trying to bury it for good had left him with an overwhelming sense that everything he did was  _too much_ , every move he made was  _too risky_. 

The sudden embrace startled the demon, his muscles stiffening at the unexpected envelopment. Of all their years together, displays of affection this profound were uncommon… But such emotion was undoubtedly a sign of gratitude. It took all of a few seconds for Cipher to return the hug, wrapping his arms tight around Rick’s waist and yanking him close to his own body, kicking below the surface in a desperate attempt to keep them both afloat despite this most wonderful distraction. 

“I’m not going to. I wouldn’t dare to…  _I never left._ ” Glowing yellow eyes firmly held Evil Rick’s gaze, conveying all of the reassurance and promise one could without words. Cipher was a liar, a master manipulator by all means. But lying to  _this man_  was something he could never seem to do. And it was true of course, that no matter how hard he  _tried_ to leave, he couldn’t. A part of him refused, a part of him that knew who he truly belonged with. He could have convinced everyone in the world that any feelings for Rick had evaporated, but he would  _never_  be able to convince himself. He’d missed him. He’d missed  _this._

Clasping a warm palm around the back of his lover’s neck, Bill closed the gap between them at last and pulled Rick into a deep, breathless kiss.

\--------------------------

 Admittedly Evil Rick was about to retort that Bill had fucking left but before he could bitch about it Bill had locked him into a deep kiss. As the taste of the demon flooded his mouth and indeed his senses, that bitter protest was tempered and suddenly seemed pointless. He was glad of it, glad to be silenced, this, well this was as good as it had ever been between them and time had taught him that he was usually the one that opened his mouth and fucked it all up. With everything Bill had been though over the last few days, with everything they’d both been through;  _put_ themselves through; the last thing he wanted to do was dredge up the mistakes of the past. In an effort to remain silenced he returned the kiss harder, so hard he pushed them both straight under the water. As soon as the icy water hit the top of his head he slicked his arm around Bill’s throat and kicked to push them further down into the dark depths until he felt Bill’s back thud against the sand bank below. The water itself was like a wet black soup and he could see nothing; admittedly he’d half expected to see the bright yellow glow of Bill’s eyes through the murk.

Releasing his hold on the demon he kicked back up to the surface with an icy gasp and waited for Bill to burst though the water but there was no sign of him at all and instead he was greeted only by the calm surface of the water. Immediately Evil Rick was put on high alert, not because he worried he had drowned the demon, but because he suddenly felt like a man swimming in freshly chummed, shark-infested waters.

 _“Come on you sly Motherfucker!”_  He challenged with a chittering shiver, realising that without Bill’s body heat he couldn’t remain in the lake much longer.

\------------------------

Engulfed by the lake and being pushed further and  _further_  down into its dark depths was a most welcome feeling- he felt like he was flying,  _floating_  even if he was technically  _sinking._ Swallowed whole by the bleakness of the water, he could see nothing,  _feel_  nothing but the skin of his lover on his own, their lips locked and parting only once his bare back collided with the sandy bottom floor, sending small plumes of muddied substrate floating through the water. It was too soon, he didn’t  _want_ to separate, not yet. He needed the burning sensation of **oxygen depletion**  and  **exhaustion** to flood his lungs, needed Rick to steal every last bit of his air that drowning had not yet ripped from him.

Eyes of glowing amber opened to break through the pitch black, watching, studying as the other kicked his feet and fought his way back to the surface. But Cipher remained perfectly still, gripping onto a single boulder within his reach and anchoring himself to the bed of the lake. He could have just floated back to the top, breached and swam back into his lover’s arms, but that would require missing an opportunity to scare Rick- something that he only got the chance to do every so often, and  _never_  passed up.

Slowly,  _silently,_  the demon allowed his body to float towards the other,  _directly_  beneath him, careful not to open his mouth or huff through his nose so as to not create any bubbles. Closer and closer he came, until two warm palms flashed to Rick’s ankles, wrapping around them and dragging the other back under the water into his arms with a hard  **yank.** A myriad of bubbles escaped the demon’s mouth as he grinned, pulling them back above the surface with his loud, reverberant cackling echoing across the vast lake. 

 **“ _AAAHAHAHA!_** Water’s not so cozy without me,  _is it_  sweetie?” One hand slicking back his hair and the other gripped tightly around Rick’s waist, he began to push him backwards slowly towards the shore.

\-------------------------

Evil Rick continued treading water, waiting for the demon to emerge, admittedly he was starting to worry, not that Bill had drowned, such a thing was highly unlikely, what was far more likely was that he was going to freeze to death if he continued on in the lake alone.

 _“Okay, very fucking funny…”_  He moaned sarcastically, scanning the surface for the faintest sign of life…nothing, still nothing. Without Bill the lake was swiftly taking on a distinctly ominous tone and it was nowhere near as relaxing, in fact it’s temperature was most probably slowly and silently killing him. _“Look you fucking….”_  A spluttered mouthful of crisp cold water halted his tirade as he was dragged under the water. Feeling for Bill in the flailing swell, he grabbed onto him, to rise back up while at the same time stealing the demon’s much needed heat, breathing was starting to become painful, a clear indication he should probably leave the water soon. As he caught his breath, he pulled back his fist and gave Bill a playful punch to the shoulder _. “I am fucking freezing to death here!”_  He grumbled, flashing the demon a wry smile between his annoyed glares.

As Bill gripped his waist and pulled them both back to shore, he clung to the demon, enveloping him, claiming every burst of warm under his skin and feeling immediate relief. When they finally reached the sandbank he pushed Bill against it so he could rest against him, allowing the heat from the demon’s chest to radiate through his back. Taking a deep breath he tilted his head back and pulled Bill’s arms around him for extra warmth as he lay against in his silence staring at the huge ivory moon above that hung above them. After a brief moment of silence he finally spoke.

 _“We should take another trip_.” It wasn’t so much a suggestion as it was the vocalisation of a need. They hadn’t been away together since New Orleans and so much had happened since then it felt like a lifetime ago.  _“Somewhere warm.”_  He added with a grin and a shiver.  

\-------------------------

The punch to the shoulder made the demon burst into a fit of laughter, holding Rick even  _tighter_  against him as he made his way back towards the shore. “ _Ow!_  I’m not gonna let you freeze, shit head! Well I  _might_  if you keep punching me,” he snickered through grinning teeth.

Feeling the ground beneath his feet at last and climbing out of the lake’s icy depths, Bill huffed out a quiet  _oof_  as he was pushed back down against the sand, automatically following his lover’s lead into an embrace and  _yanking_  the other back into his warm aura. Rick’s bare back pressed against him was a sensation the demon would never tire of, a feeling he craved. Catching the other’s exposed neck in the corner of his eye, Bill dove for the wet skin, brushing his lips along the other’s throat in a trail of kisses. How long had it been since he’d been this gentle with this man? And fuck if it didn’t feel  _so good_  to be this way with him again.

“Mmmm… We should.” Immediately he was lost in memories of New Orleans, vivid images of their drunken dancing in the French Quarter and crooning to each other as they tripped over their own feet… And Rick killing the boy who had perched himself in the demon’s lap, fuck how could he forget  _that._ Bill smiled at the thought, wrapping up his barrage of kisses on the other’s cheek and resting his chin atop Rick’s head.

Feeling the man shudder in his arms, the demon automatically tightened his hold on Rick,  _enveloping_  him. “… What about Mexico?”

\----------------------

Evil Rick huffed out a cold misty breath as the warmth of Bill’s lips gradually heated his frozen skin, whenever the demon was gentle with him like this it always had the quality of a slow and welcome surrender, like being tenderly and protectively held in sharp dangerous jaws designed solely to crush bone. It took resting in the arms of the most dangerous being in his world to make him feel truly safe.

Evil Rick smiled as he heard the suggestion, immediately imagining the warmth of the place; all sunset yellow and paprika red, soaked in tequila and peppered with gun fire. It was true the old man had a particular fondness for Earth, they had the entire multi-verse to explore and yet still that was where he always wanted to go whenever Bill asked about going away together. They had met on Earth and in the seventies they had explored it together before he’d had his portal gun. The planet reminded him of his youth and that nostalgia itself was in so many ways both welcoming and warming. Despite all of his work to refine technological advances that wiped out the need for traditional transport, there was still nothing that matched the thrill of getting behind the wheel of a classic car.

 _“One condition.”_ He replied playfully, tilting his head to capture Bill’s eye _. “No portal guns…we drive…just like the old days.”_ He grinned as a memory flashed through his mind; Bill driving a stolen cop car down the strip in Vegas with Rick’s drunk ass hanging out the passenger window complimenting all the hookers, one by one. Sliding around in Bill’s grasp he looped his arms over the demon’s head to pull him closer with a shiver that communicated he would need to leave the water soon. “ _Agreed?”_

_\-------------------------_

_Just like the old days._

Bill’s smile grew twice as wide, eyes lost in pools of dark hazel, ringed by gold from the reflection of his own gaze and illuminating a light in Rick’s reverent stare that told him they were both brought back to the same memory. The memory of the neon Vegas strip, the memory of stolen cop cars and blood-stained police uniforms, the memory of a rendez-vous that would live in infamy for many and be cherished by the two of them. It had felt so unlike the old days until recently,  _the polar opposite._ And the very thought that they could get it all back, that they could have the bond they shared in the 70s and  _more_  had Bill’s head reeling, overcome with an intense wave of emotion by just how much he missed calling Rick his and holding this man in his arms and how  _stupid_ he felt for ever denying him.

 “Agreed,” he stated simply, sealing their deal with a chaste kiss to the other’s temple before pulling the pair of them up on their feet. He held the shivering form of his companion close, keeping him as warm as he could as he led Rick back towards the cabin. It was late, even if Cipher had only been awake for a couple of hours; yet his body yearned to collapse alongside his partner on their bed and let Rick steal his warmth all night long, both men burrowed under the quilts and pressed against one another with dreams of drinking too much tequila and painting sugar skulls on their faces.

Reaching his hand down between their wet, dripping bodies as they walked, Bill began to brush some grains of sand off Rick’s ass with a light laugh. “C’mon, you’re gonna catch your death out here.”

\---------------------

**END**

**Author's Note:**

> The next thread / fic in the series is called Phantoms and it is an amalgamation of two drabbles that document Bill-Rick choosing to wipe his husband and family from his mind entirely.


End file.
